Tentsile Stingray review: the all-new generation 3.0 tried & tested for 2023

Tentsile tree tents provide a whole new camping experience.

They offer the freedom and comfort of a traditional hammock with the space and protection of a tent.

The Stingray is Tentsile’s flagship product and can accommodate up to 3 adults (or a young family of 4) and their gear.

Now on generation 3.0, the Stingray has come a long way since its inception, and some of the nagging issues from earlier models have largely been ironed out.

But, is it worth buying?

Well…we’ve used and abused our Stingray to find that out for you. But in short, yes, yes it is.

First though, let’s take a look at some of the basics.

Every Tentsile Stingray comes supplied with everything you need to set up and your shiny new tree tent will come looking a little something like this –

All tree tents bought via Tentsile.com come with –

• 10% off your order (with our code: affiliate7RZBCT)
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Free USA and EU shipping
• 3-year warranty

They also plant 20 trees for every tree tent that is sold. So if you need ANY excuse to buy a Stingray, you couldn’t find a better one than helping save the planet!

Tentsile Stingray review

Generation 3.0 vs generation 2.0 – what’s new?

The Stingray 3.0 has had a huge overhaul and some of the major defects found in the previous generations have been wiped out.

For starters, the quality of stitching and the materials used are far, far superior.

Unlike with our previous generation Stingray, we didn’t experience any rips, tears, or holes after some rugged use.

Other neat new features of the 3.0 include –

Ease of set up

At first glance, the Stingray seems like it might be confusing or time-consuming to set up, but once you’ve done it a couple of times it’s really easy.

You actually get a really detailed instruction manual with clear photography for each step of the process. There’s also a video you can follow, available here.

From start to finish the Stingray can easily be set up by one person in 15 minutes.

How far apart from trees can you be with the ratchets provided?

You can be about 5-6 meters from each tree with the provided ratchets.

Do the trees need to be in a perfect triangle?

Nope! While it does make centering the tent easier, the trees absolutely do not have to be formed into a perfect triangle.

The straps can be altered to work between differently positioned trees.

Weight, capacity, and size

The `Stingray weighs 11.1kg/24.4lbs, packs down (in the provided carry bag) to 25.5 x 8.6 x 11.8″ and has a total maximum load of 400kg/880lbs.

It features a patented design that uses seatbelt webbing for added strength and tensioning.

It has a total floor space of 28 sq. feet (without the ground conversion stack), and a peak height of 4 ft.

Comfort

The 3-point anchoring system of the Stingray creates perfect tension for a tight base to get comfy on.

While it’s taut enough to allow you to stay in a position that you’re comfortable in, it has just enough give to “hug” and cushion you while you sleep.

The patented design of the tent creates individual sleeping bays for each person in the Stingray.

This ensures that, despite weight differences, no one rolls into the middle of the tent.

The underfloor straps balance out any weight differences and prevent everyone in the tent from rolling towards the heaviest person.

The only time we noticed this didn’t truly work was when we tested it with very young kids.

While it works exceptionally well for adults and even teens, young kids just didn’t seem to have enough weight to be able to sink into their own bay enough to prevent rolling into the middle.

The extra added storage pockets both underneath and inside of the Stingray also add that little more comfort. You can store your shoes and damp clothes underneath the hammock, keeping your interior pockets for important belongings such as phones, glasses, and reading books.

Does it get cold underneath like standard hammocks do?

The Stingray is pretty much the same as a hammock in terms of the cold you will feel coming from underneath during the night and in colder months.

So yes, it does get cold underneath if you are not prepared or expecting the cold air that does blow underneath your tent.

We always sleep on some kind of air pad for added warmth. Tentsile have their very own Sky-pad, designed in partnership with top camping mattress manufacturer Klymit and it’s fantastic for both warmth and comfort. It makes sleeping in the air that little more cloud-like.

They can actually be clipped together to offer even more stability in the Stingray if you buy one for each bay.

Can the Stingray be used in 4-seasons?

Yes! Excluding Arctic Circle winter, the Stingray is all-season ready. As you can probably imagine, you would HAVE to have an insulated sleeping pad and a very warm bag for the winter months. The Sky-pad mentioned above is suitable for winter use and has an insulation R-value of 4.

Are dogs able to sleep inside the Stingray?

Ah, the most important question last. Yes. We took our 100lb labrador inside with us with no problems. The key is not to hang the tree tent too high for obvious safety reasons. Or if you feel your dog wouldn’t enjoy being up off the ground, you can always use one of the Tentsile’s ground conversion kits and set up your Stingray on the ground.